1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method of continuously inspecting coupling condition of a number of connectors automatically on a mass production process line.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An example of methods of checking whether two male and female connector housings have been perfectly coupled is disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined (Kokai) Utility Model Appli. No. 53-95187, entitled Cable Connecting Apparatus.
In this apparatus, a reflector is provided within one of matable connector housing and a pair of optical paths are formed within the other of the connector housings so that a go-and-return optical path can be formed when the two connector housings are normally coupled. Further, a light source is arranged toward one optical path and a light receiving element is arranged toward the other optical path. Therefore, it is possible to check the perfect connector coupling condition when the light receiving element can receive light emitted from the light source.
In the prior-art connector coupling condition inspecting method, however, since the object to be inspected is an optical path formed within the two connector housings and therefore not directly related to the connector coupling condition, there exists a problem in that an optical path can be formed in spite of the fact that the two matable connector housings are not perfectly coupled, thus it being impossible to reliably inspect connector coupling conditions of many connectors at high speed.
To overcome the above-mentioned problems, it is also possible to construct a system which can directly take an image representative of connector coupling condition within one of the connector housings. In this system, however, since it is necessary to keep an accurate focus distance between the image tube and the connector housing coupling position in order to obtain a clear image, there exists a problem in that a relatively costly mechanism for precisely locating the image tube relative to the connector housings may be required.